"Well, You Won't Have Old Joe Bo to Kick Around Anymore."

Dear Dayton:

NO! Bad hands! No touch!

about 1 year ago jonfmorse 16 comments 0 recs |

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no... please no

I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me

by LeoBloom on Jul 5, 2008 12:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This is what happens when you but a Rent-A-Closer

Billy at worst will be Sean Casey jr.

by kcscoliny on Jul 5, 2008 12:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

About time

you can’t tell me that there isn’t someone else on the Cleveland roster that could do better than five runs for every six innings.

A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.

by NHZ on Jul 5, 2008 1:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Some have said that the closer role is overrated and/or unimportant, so I had expected to see more clamoring to pick up Joe. Soria could then be moved to whatever role is more important, like setup or starting, without “wasting” any of the Royals’ other bullpen talents on closing.

I’m not arguing whether those beliefs are true or not; rather, I’m suggesting that now would be a better time to test that theory while losing meaningless games to a bad closer at worst and freeing up Soria to excel in a more important role at best.

Personally, I’d prefer that GMDM not pick up Borowski, but I that’s because I think a reliable closer is important.

by Stat Ninja on Jul 5, 2008 11:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think you are misinterpreting the argument for moving Soria to starter

People that want to move Soria to starter and think the closer role is overrated don’t necessarily want to acquire guys with 7.00 ERAs. We think anyone with a decent ERA could close (Mahay, RamRam, Nunez), not guys that are terrible, but rack up lots of saves.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 5, 2008 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

This space intentionally left blank.

by marbotty on Jul 6, 2008 7:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree, you need to up that to a YEAH (definite, 12 year-old chest puffing)

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Jul 6, 2008 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

definite="defiant"

I am a genus of the keyboard

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Jul 6, 2008 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Well said, Retro.

A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.

by NHZ on Jul 6, 2008 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm truly baffled.

Borowski is a shitty pitcher. I wouldn’t want him handling garbage time, much less high leverage situations.

And that, of course, is the entire crux of the argument. An abjectly shitty pitcher led the American League in saves last year, owing chiefly to being handed a 2+ run lead in well over half his appearances. He had 53 save opportunities, and this crappy pitcher with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.341 WHIP converted 85% of them. And led the league in saves. Did I mention that?

But people are panicking in the streets over seeing whether Soria can start, because OMG you need a lights-out closer. If a clown with a 91 ERA+ and 34% chance of allowing at least two baserunners in an inning can be successful 85% of the time, I’m pretty sure Ramon Ramirez would only blow two or three save opps in a season.

(It’s not like Borowski was much better in Florida in 2006, either.)

Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.

by jonfmorse on Jul 6, 2008 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ramon Ramirez

would make a fine closer right now, and he sure as hell would be better than Borowski.

NOTE: nothing personal against JoeBo, he’s had himself a neat career for someone who almost never got started.

A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.

by NHZ on Jul 6, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

Grit and grinderism are stupid reasons for thinking someone’s a good ballplayer, but it’s fun to enjoy guys who come out of nowhere. Wasn’t Borowski a legitimately decent reliever a for a little while, and wasn’t he almost out of baseball (maybe working in a hardware store or something) before? A great story, and easier to enjoy since he hasn’t been excessively lauded in the press.

Plus, he was cheap 50 saves for me last year in fantasy, great 1-2 punch with Soria.

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Jul 6, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He had one legitimately decent season in Chicago.

Which, of course, is one of the keystone arguments for even the closer job being a fungible commodity.

Don’t get me wrong: if you get your hands on a pitcher who is simply not capable of going much over an inning, but is awesome in that inning, keep him as long as it’s financially responsible, and keep him as your closer. But if a guy’s got the chops to start, keeping him in the 9th inning is just damned foolishness.

Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.

by jonfmorse on Jul 6, 2008 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs